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Journals of Lewis and Clark: Dates March 1805 - Part Two

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The Journals of Lewis and Clark: Dates March 10, 1805 - March 15, 1805
The following excerpts are taken from entries of the Journals of Lewis and Clark. Dates: March 10, 1805 - March 15, 1805

March 10, 1805
Sunday 10. A cold windy day. Tetuckopinreha, chief of the Ahnahaways, and the Minnetaree chief Ompsehara, passed the day with us, and the former remained during the night. We had occasion to see an instance of the summary justice of the Indians: a young Minnetaree had carried off the daughter of Cagonomokshe, the Raven Man, second chief of the upper village of the Mandans; the father went to the village and found his daughter, whom he brought home, and took with him a horse belonging to the offender: this reprisal satisfied the vengeance of the father and of the nation, as the young man would not dare to reclaim his horse, which from that time became the property of the injured party. The stealing of young women is one of the most common offenses against the police of the village, and the punishment of it always measured by the power or the passions of the kindred of the female. A voluntary elopement is of course more rigorously chastised.

One of the wives of the Borgne deserted him in favor of a man who had been her lover before the marriage, and who after some time left her, and she was obliged to return to her father's house. As soon as he heard it the Borgne walked there and found her sitting near the fire: without noticing his wife, he began to smoke with the father; when they were joined by the old men of the village, who knowing his temper had followed in hopes of appeasing him. He continued to smoke quietly with them, till rising to return, he took his wife by the hair, led her as far as the door, and with a single stroke of his tomahawk put her to death before her father's eyes: then turning fiercely upon the spectators, he said that if any of her relations wished to avenge her, they might always find him at his lodge; but the fate of the woman had not sufficient interest to excite the vengeance of the family. The caprice or the generosity of the same chief gave a very different result to a similar incident which occurred some time afterwards.

Another of his wives eloped with a young man, who not being able to support her as she wished they both returned to the village, and she presented herself before the husband, supplicating his pardon for her conduct: the Borgne sent for the lover: at the moment when the youth expected that he would be put to death, the chief [170]mildly asked them if they still preserved their affection for each other; and on their declaring that want, and not a change of affection had induced them to return, he gave up his wife to her lover, with the liberal present of three horses, and restored them both to his favor.

March 11, 1805
Monday 11. The weather was cloudy in the morning and a little snow fell, the wind then shifted from southeast to northwest and the day became fair. It snowed again in the evening, but the next day,

March 12, 1805
Tuesday 12, was fair with the wind from the northwest.

March 13, 1805
Wednesday 13. We had a fine day, and a southwest wind. Mr. M‘Kenzie came to see us, as did also many Indians who are so anxious for battle-axes that our smiths have not a moment's leisure, and procure us an abundance of corn. The river rose a little to-day, and so continued.

March 14, 1805
Thursday 14. The wind being from the west, and the day fine, the whole party were employed in building boats and in shelling corn.

March 15, 1805
Friday 15. The day is clear, pleasant and warm. We take advantage of the fine weather to hang all our Indian presents and other articles out to dry before our departure.

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